Kansas City radio host Kevin Kietzman is facing backlash for his criticism of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, which ventured into a personal realm.
Kietzman has been a host of “Between the Lines” on Sports Radio 810 WHB in Kansas City for over 20 years and is proud of his provocative commentary. He carried on that tradition Monday when talking about Reid.
Kietzman discussed the issues Tyreek Hill is facing and combined Hill’s disciplinary issues with the problems Reid’s sons have had. He concluded Reid has problems disciplining people. Here’s what he said on-air:
Here's Kevin Kietzman dragging Andy Reid's name through the muck. Truly disgusting audio. Cut him from 810 NOW, ban him for LIFE from American radio. pic.twitter.com/nYPVM2ua6K
— 50 Sent (@ClayWendler) June 24, 2019
“Andy Reid does not have a great record of fixing players. He doesn’t. Discipline is not his thing. It did not work out particularly well in his family life. That needs to be added to this as we talk about the Chiefs. He’s had a lot of things go bad on him — he is not good at fixing people. He is not good at discipline. That is not his strength. His strength is designing football plays,” Kietzman said.
Kietzman’s criticism led to plenty of backlash, with much of it coming from fellow media members.
Kevin Kietzman is not good at empathy. Or critical thinking. Or being a decent human being. He’s shown us this time and again but because he owns the radio station he’s untouchable. He’s a stain on a great city. https://t.co/pLfOMoV4Rn
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) June 25, 2019
Whoever this clown is that said this, you are trash for referencing Andy Reid and his family and his son. You don’t “fix” people dumb ass. To speak about another man’s child is out of bounds. Embarrassing what people will do to try and be relevant. https://t.co/MW9QMveDbN
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) June 25, 2019
This is about as bull of a take as there could be. The fool who said this is a steaming pile who likely just brought a whole lot of bad ish his way. #TripleDookieTweet https://t.co/sQ4DVuJOVj
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) June 25, 2019
Reid and his wife had five children. His oldest son, Garrett, dealt with drug addiction and died of a heroin overdose in 2012. His son, Britt, has had drug and gun arrests.
Bringing up such personal matters in his criticism of the coach — looping it all into a bucket of discipline problems — is unfair and crosses a line. Kietzman could — and should — have limited his comments to Reid’s discipline of his players and left it at that.
The matter of Hill came up because the team reportedly is expecting a suspension from the league to be handed down to the wide receiver.
